Posted on 02/23/2015 11:14:42 PM PST by NRx
Robert A. McDonald, the secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department, apologized on Monday for falsely claiming last month that he had served in the United States Special Forces.
Mr. McDonald, a 1975 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, where he completed jungle, arctic, desert warfare and Ranger training, according to his official biography.
But his assertion to a homeless veteran in Los Angeles that he was in Special Forces — captured on camera for a CBS News report — was false, he acknowledged on Monday. His initial claim was first reported by The Huffington Post.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
In the army it’s a simple yes/no equation...
Either you are authorized the special forces tab or you are not. You can get into deeper discussions of deployments, and unit assignments, but in the end it’s tab or no tab.
Trust me when I say that a soldier is always 100% clear as to whether he is, or is not, special forces.
The Navy and USMC use different language... special warfare and special operations, and even there, the specwar guys know who they are, and the specops guys are clear on their roles.
It might seem like semantics from the outside, but inside the fences a) the boys know who’s who, and b) yes, it matters.
He’s an arrogant SOB. A couple weeks ago at a Congressional hearing, he was asked by Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO and combat vet himself) cost overruns at the Denver VA. McDonald blame Congress for the overruns and basically said Coffman is not qualified to debate the issue. McDonald then said I’ve run a large company sir, what have you done. He’s a hot head.
So...he’s a Democrat
It is its own entity, it goes ranger,special forces, Delta force and for this baboon to claim he was more than he is, is a stolen valor issue and he should be fired, I was a scout in the army nothing special but I have worked with special forces In Iraq but I wouldn’t say I was a green beret because it would be a lie all this clearer now.
Lying is the new truth..
Lying is the new truth..
I am an American mother with a son who started out in Army moved to 82nd Airborne (which included service in Gulf War 1), then transferred into Special Forces (with 2 tours in Afghanistan). I understand that Special Forces is a distinct entity, but in general I have also though of special forces as including the 82nd, Green Berets, Seals, Delta Force, etc. So, do we know if he was saying Special Forces, or special forces since he was not reading from a script or applying for a job?
Special Forces is a tab issued by the Army. To earn it you have either successfully completed SF trading or you have fought in a SF unit for a minimum of 120 days. Airborne and Ranger schools do not qualify you to wear the SF tab unless you have met the requirements above. Seals do not pass out Special Forces tabs. They have their own unique way of issuing their own tab that involves pain.
Is this guy not subject to the Stolen Valor law?
In the US Army, there are various ranking of infantry soldiers:
1) Straight-leg-infantry
2) Mechanized infantry (In vehicles)
3) Air-Mobile infantry (Helicopters)
4) Airborne Infantry (Paratroopers)
5) Rangers (Girl scouts wear black berets)
6) Green Berets (Special forces)
7) Delta (if they exist)(BG9)
Claiming a higher status is considered to be in bad taste.
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